Britain introduced sanctions on Monday against two Russian research centers along with their senior personnel, citing their ties to the country's chemical weapons efforts and their part in producing the toxins that poisoned opposition activist Alexei Navalny.

The measures, presented by Britain as a means to highlight and discourage Moscow's chemical weapons activities, precede the NATO gathering in Ankara and follow comparable steps taken by the European Union.

Navalny became gravely ill during a 2020 flight across Siberia, with Western labs determining he had been exposed to a Novichok nerve agent, a type of military toxin created in the Soviet period.

Navalny died in 2024 after exposure to Epibatidine, a substance obtained from poison dart frogs, according to Britain and allied European nations. Moscow has rejected claims of responsibility for the death.

The British government stated on Monday that the sanctioned individuals participated in the development of both the Novichok agent and Epibatidine.

Russia's diplomatic mission in London offered no immediate reply to inquiries regarding the latest sanctions.

Russia has allegedly used chemical weapons in the past, violating international law

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described Russia's repeated deployment of chemical weapons as a breach of international law and a danger to worldwide security.

She noted that from Novichok incidents in Salisbury to Epibatidine use in Siberia, resulting in harm to Dawn Sturgess and Alexei Navalny, Russia persists in employing cruel methods that cause death and pain to civilians, including those in Ukraine.

Novichok featured in the 2018 attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. The pair survived, yet civilian Dawn Sturgess later died after contact with a discarded container holding the material.

A British inquiry completed last year determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed the operation by GRU agents against Skripal.

Russia has consistently rejected any role in the event, labeling the claims as anti-Russian propaganda.